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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm Minutes 6/19/2012Mansfield School Committee Meeting as amended Minutes for Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Town Hall, Room 3B & C An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held at the Town Hall on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. After returning from Executive Session the Open Session meeting was reopened and called to order by Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge at 7:45 PM. Motion U.C. 5 - 0 Members Present — roll call vote to re -open the Open Meeting: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman; yes Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, Vice Chairman; yes Mrs. Jean Miller, yes Mrs. Kiera O'Neil yes Mr. Wayne Smith yes Also Present: Mrs. Brenda Hodges, Superintendent of Schools Mr. Edward Vozzella, Director of Finance PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Strategic Planning Oversight Committee: Mrs. Hodges informed the Committee that she and Town Manager, Mr. Bill Ross, were working together to select six to seven individuals to the Strategic Planning Oversight Committee. It is their plan to begin meetings with this group to implement the recommendations contained within the Strategic Plan. Mrs. Miller asked how the names were picked for the Oversight Committee. Mrs. Hodges said she got the names for the people who were one the original Strategic Planning Committee and School Councils and then had reached out to the principals for their input and have about 15 names. Mr. Ross probably had about seven names or so but if you would like to submit some names that would be fine. Mrs. Miller thought that maybe inviting people to be part of it so that it does not give the appearance of a hand selected committee, although you will pick the people. Mr. Trowbridge was also inquisitive of the process. Mrs. Hodges noted that they looked for people that were involved in the process. Mrs. Hodges felt that it would not be the right approach to reach out to people that have not been part of it, and you really needed to be part of the Strategic Planning process. Mr. Trowbridge agreed and asked if all those who participated were aware of this part of the process. Mrs. Hodges felt that they were aware from beginning to end. Mrs. Miller asked how many people were part of the process. Mrs. Hodges and Mr. Trowbridge answered forty or so people were involved. Mrs. Miller was wondering if all those people were invited to participate or submit their names for the Strategic Oversight Committee. Mrs. Hodges commented that we did not reach out and ask people to be part of the committee, we just look at a group of them, and we have not made a selection yet. Mrs. Miller asked if it made sense to ask the whole committee, with Mrs. Hodges saying she would be happy to reach out to them. Mrs. Losiewicz interjected by saying having them submit their names so that Mrs. Hodges could pick from them. Mr. Trowbridge mentioned that she could choose from the school people. Mrs. Miller said that would be good so that you could avoid the appearance that you - 1 - had hand selected the people to get the results you wanted. Mrs. Losiewicz stated that we should get Bill Ross to contact Jennifer Davis, who made all the original contacts with the participants, to send an email to everybody and let them know. Mrs. Losiewicz felt that The Committee was in agreement. Mrs. O'Neil felt that the Strategic Plan was a great Town Strategic Plan but she does not view it as a Strategic Plan for the schools, so is part of this a plan of building a true "school" 5 year Strategic Plan? Mrs. Hodges reassured Mrs. O'Neil that we were going to build a more in depth Strategic Plan for the schools from this. Mrs. O'Neil asked if we were going to need more people from the community to do this and Mrs. Hodges said yes we would and we would be reaching out to our School Council people for that. Mrs. O'Neil wanted to know if we had received any guidance from Dr. Mullin on how to do this with Mrs. Hodges stating no that she and the Town Manager were hoping to sit down with Dr. Mullins and have that conversation. Kindergarten Uudate: Mrs. Hodges updated the School Committee that there were 126 students enrolled and have gone through the process for the full day kindergarten and put down their deposit. We have six classes of full day Kindergarten students. We said that we were not going to have more than the six full day classes. There are 125 students enrolled for the half day Kindergarten with 3 double sessions. There is a total of 251 kindergarten students. At the moment there is no one on the waiting list. Mrs. O'Neil asked if there was an impact o the busing and Mrs. Hodges replied that it was actually less because of the full day students, but that really would not make a big impact. Thank you to MESA & QMS PAC: Mrs. Hodges wanted to take some time to thank the MESA & QMS PAC members for all the wonderful opportunities that they have given to the children of Mansfield through their tireless fundraising efforts and gifts provided for the children and the teachers of the district. APPROVAL OF WARRANTS The following warrants were presented and accepted by the School Committee on June 19, 2012. Good & Services # 2012 —1038 dated 05 -01 -2012, in the amount of $188,499.87 Salary & Wages, # 2012 — 23 dated 05- 11 -2012, in the amount of $1,403,117.67 Goods & Services #2012 -1040 dated 05 -15 -2012 in the amount of $485,375.29 Salary & Wages, # 2012 — 24 dated 05 -25 -2012, in the amount of $1,419,976.84 Good & Services # 2012 —1042 dated 05- 29 -2012, in the amount of $231,753.91 Chairman Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the warrants. A motion was made to approve the warrants 1� by Mrs. Jean Miller. , 2°a by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U.C. 5-0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Executive Session Minutes of May 22, 2012 were tabled. The School Committee Minutes of May 22, 2012 were approved as amended. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the minutes. A motion was made to approve the minutes 1s* by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U.C. 5 - 0 OLD BUSINESS �2� School Committee Meeting Dates: The School Committee meeting dates were re submitted to add additional meetings to the schedule for next year. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the School Committee meeting dates for 2012 — 2013 school year. A motion was made by is' Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz Motion U.C. 5 - 0 District Poliev Updates: Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, along with former School Committee member Mr. Jim Perry, had begun the process of going over the District's Policy Manual. They met with MASC Representative, Mr. Jim Hardy, to go over the Policy Manual and to facilitate making all the changes, updates and new policies that have taken place since it was first done by MASC in 2002. Mrs. O'Neil has since been responsible for updating the current District Policy Manual and presented the changes to the rest of the Committee for approval. The School Committee had decided at the April 10, 2012 meeting that they would vote to approve the changes as they were made instead of waiting until all of the documents were finished. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the changes, additions and updates to the current District Policy Manual. The votes are as follows: i. Submission and Approval of the School Improvement Plan — Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the changes, additions and updates to the current District Policy Manual. A motion was made by 1n Mrs. Lisa LosiewiCD, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. - .r. — o 2. Meeting Procedures — A motion was made by V Mrs. Lisa Losiewicy�, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. - .r, — o g. Agenda Preparation and Distribution — as amended A motion was made by 1a Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz- 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. Motion U. C. - s — o 4 Minutes — A motion was made by 1n Mrs. Lisa LosiewiCZI, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. Motion U. C. - 5 — o 5. Newspapers and other Nexv Media — A motion was made by 1st Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz,, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. Motion U. C. - r; — o 6. Equal Employment Opportunity — A motion was made by 1n Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz,, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. Motion U. C. - A — o �3� l y Personnel Records — A motion was made by 1n Mrs. Lisa LosiewicZ�, 0d by Mr. Wayne Smith. Motion U. C. - .r, — o FY'12 Budget Update: Capital Improvements Update: 1. Track & Field: On June 1, 2012, we met with Dave Quirk of Quirk Construction to review the requirements and expectations of the project. Mr. Quirk indicated that the job would commence on Monday, June 180' and be completed by August 1501. The contract has been signed by both patties and we are ready to proceed. There will be regularly scheduled Wednesday morning meetings throughout the project to review the project status. 2. Robinson Windows: A pre -bid conference will be held on Wednesday, June 1301 for prospective bidders. Our architects, Gale Associates, Inc., are scheduled to open bids on June 200i. 3. Telephone System: On Thursday, June 140i, the Superintendent along with Mr. Walter Parker, met with the Finance Committee and obtained their approval to fund the High School segment of the project via a reserve transfer from the Finance Committee reserve. The preliminary estimate for just the high school is $80,000. Per discussion with Peter Marzlick, the consultant engaged to develop the specifications, it would be unlikely that a new system could be installed this summer. He said a system could be installed over a three -day weekend in the fall. 4. Gym Wall: We have received a letter from the Maguire Group, the architect for this job, saying we could use the gym until the repairs were made. An initial inspection showed that there were tie clips connecting the soap wall to the blocks which was an initial question and concern. The next step will be for the Maguire Group to come back with options to fix the problem. Once it is decided how to repair the wall, bid specifications will be prepared and an IFB will be distributed. Final Approval — Superintendent's Evaluation: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman of the School Committee, tabulated the collective scores of the School Committee's evaluation of the Superintendent, Mrs. Brenda Hodges, held in Open Session at the May 22, 2012 School Committee Meeting. The final summary of the ratings are as follows. Section II SUMMARY OF RATINGS. Section A. Relationships with the School Committee AA / E Section B. Community Relationships AA Section C. Personnel Management AA Section D. Petsonal Oualities E Section E. Educational Leadership AA Section F. General Management E Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the Superintendent's Evaluation. 14— A motion was made by 1st Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. j Motion U.C. 4-0-1 Mr. Smith did not participate due to being a new member Reconsideration of MHS Handbook / Alcohol Polio The School Committee revisited the Alcohol Policy that is in the MHS Handbook. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the reconsideration of the MHS Handbook / Alcohol Policy. A motion was made to revisit the MHS Handbook Alcohol Policy 1st by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Mr. Trowbridge, Mrs. Losiewicz, Mr. Smith, Mrs. O'Neil and Mrs. Miller chose to reopen the Alcohol Policy. Motion U.C. 5-0 Mrs. Miller felt that after the last School Committee and much consideration that she would like to change her original vote of accepting the Alcohol Policy to voting against it. Mrs. Miller felt there was far too many variables to be considered and was not comfortable with her original vote. After much discussion, Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to re approve the MHS Handbook / Alcohol Policy. A motion was made to revisit the MHS Handbook Alcohol Policy 1st by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Mr. Trowbridge, Mrs. Losiewicz, Mr. Smith, Mrs. O'Neil approved the Policy with Mrs. Miller choosing to vote against it. Motion Carries a — 1 with Mrs. Miller against. Grade 2 Literacy Results / Robinson Jennifer Fleishman gave an excellent presentation of The Grade 2 Literacy results. The GRADE assessment is administered to all students in the spring of grade 2. The purpose of collecting this data is to provide "outcomes" data for the Robinson School in terms of overall reading performance. This is currently our third year of collecting GRADE data for Reading Comprehension. The GRADE assessment has been correlated with future performance on the ELA portion of the grade g MCAS exam. Wellness Policy: Mrs. Patricia Harrison, Head Nurse for the District, presented the draft of the updated Wellness Policy for the District. Below is a brief synopsis of the policy. The Mansfield School District recognizes the relationship between student well -being and student achievement as well as the importance of a comprehensive district wellness program. Therefore, the school district will provide developmentally appropriate and sequential nutrition and physical education as well as opportunities for physical activity. The wellness program will be implemented in a multidisciplinary fashion and will be evidence based. 15- The Mansfield School District is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect children's health, well- being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. Therefore, it is the policy of the Mansfield School District that: • The school district will engage students, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing district -wide nutrition and physical activity policies. • All students in grades K -12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis. • Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meat planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat. • To the maximum extent practicable, all schools in our district will participate in available federal school meal programs. • Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the changes, additions and updates to the Wellness Policy for the Mansfield Public Schools. A motion to strike the fundraising 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school was made by ist Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller . The School Committee's intent is to allow students to participate in fundraising. Motion U.C. 5 — 0 A motion to approve the changes, additions and updates to the Wellness Policy for the Mansfield Public Schools was made by 1'' Mrs. O'Neil, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz . Motion U.C. 4 — 1 approved of the changes to the Wellness Policy. — Mrs. Jean Miller felt it was overreaching and was opposed. TELL Snrvey: The Superintendent presented the summary results of the Mass TELL survey administered to teachers in all Massachusetts School Districts. While DESE required all districts to distribute the surveys to all staff members within the district, teachers could not be made to participate. DESE only tabulated the results for those schools that had a response rate of fifty percent, or more. These results were just recently made available to the local districts and will be made public by DESE on July 1, 2012. As you will see the high school did not receive results, as they did not have a 50% response. Qualters, Jordan Jackson and Robinson each had just over the required 50% response rate, with Roland Green having a 100% response. While the responses to many areas of the survey are of concern, �6� professional development, class sizes and support for teachers are concerns that are consistent throughout the responses. I, along with the building principals, am very disappointed in the results, but also am not sure if all responses were reported accurately. It is important for you to know that the superintendents expressed their concern about the survey being administered in March, just before and during some MCAS Testing, and also that this is a time that teachers are feeling the challenges of the year to a greater degree than if the survey were administered in the fall. It was also an anonymous survey, allowing teachers to provide a response with no accountability. DESE requires that the individual schools and the district provide a School Improvement and Action Plan. The Superintendent has spoken with the leadership of the Mansfield Educators Association and my principals regarding a plan to address the results within each building. We are beginning to address these results this week and will continue in September. Field Trip Approval ( if any ) CITIZENS COMMENTS SCHOOL COMMITTEE NEW BUSINESS OTHER Motion to adiourn: Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to adjourn the School Committee Meeting of June 19, 2012 at 9:45 PM for the sole purpose of adjourning and re entering into Executive Session. A motion was made to close the meeting by Mrs. Losiewicz, 2"d by Mrs. Jean Miller, A Roll call vote to close: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, yes; Mrs. Jean Miller, yes; Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, yes; Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, yes; Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. Motion U.C. 5 -0 Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz left the Executive Session early at 10:00 PM. Mr. Trowbridge called for a motion to close the Executive Session at 10:07PM. A motion to close the Executive Session was made by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2"d by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. A Roll call vote to close: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, yes; Mrs. Jean Miller, yes; Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, yes; Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. Motion U.C. 4 - 0 Mr. Trowbridge then called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion to close the meeting was made by Mrs. Jean Miller and 2"d by Mr. Wayne Smith. A Roll call vote to close: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, yes; Mrs. Jean Miller, yes; Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, yes; Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. Motion U.C. 4- 0 17— Respec�tiilly submitted, Mary 0. Jackson Secretory to the Superintendent & School Committee Mansfield School Committee Meeting Open Session Minutes for Thursday, June 28, 2012 Superintendent's Office — 2 Park Row An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held at the Superintendent's Office on Thursday, June 28, 2012. Chairman Michael Trowbridge called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM and called for a motion to enter into Executive Session. Jean Miller made a motion to go into Executive Session for the purpose of contract negotiations for the Superintendent. Motion was seconded by Kiera O'Neil. Motion U.C. 5-0 Members Present — Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman; yes Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, Vice Chairman; yes Mrs. Jean Miller; yes Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz; yes Mr. Wayne Smith; yes Motion U. C. 5 - 0 ten�—s4, t o • Lisa Losiewicz made a motion to increase Superintendent's salary by 3% ($4,500), increase travel to $3,600 and reduce conference fees to $500. • Kiera O'Neil seconded motion. Motion carried 3 -2 • Michael Trowbridge —yes • Lisa Losiewicz —yes • Kiera O'Neil —yes • Jean Miller — no • Wayne Smith —no • Lisa Losiewicz made a motion to extend the contract until 2015. • Jean Miller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3 -2 • Michael Trowbridge —yes • Jean Miller —yes • Lisa Losiewicz — yes • Kiera O'Neil —no • Wayne Smith —no • Kiera O'Neil made a motion to continue with $15,000 stipend for Curriculum Director work for one more year. • Lisa Losiewicz seconded the motion. Motion U. C. 5 - 0 School Committee Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to adjourn from the Open Session Meeting of June 28, 2012 at 8:30 PM. for the sole purpose of adjourning. A motion was made by Mrs. O'Neil, 2"d by Mrs. Jean Miller to close the Open Meeting. A Roll call vote was taken to close the Open Meeting. Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz; Mr. Michael Trowbridge, yes; Mrs. Miller, yes; Mrs. O'Neil, yes; and Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. Motion U.C. 5 — 0 Respectfully submitted by Lisa Losiewicz, School Committee Member